Title
Receive an informational presentation on the Spatial Analysis of Farmers Branch Crime Data Using Existing Police Records.
Body
REQUESTOR:
This agenda item was requested by Mayor Pro Tem Tina Bennett-Burton for informational purposes.
BACKGROUND:
This agenda item provides the City Council with an informational presentation summarizing an external analytical review of historical crime data maintained by the Farmers Branch Police Department. The item was requested by the City Council to provide additional context and background information. The presentation focuses on data visualization techniques and geographic patterns using existing City records. It is not intended to advocate for or against any transportation system, governance structure, or regional service, nor does it constitute a study, finding, or conclusion regarding causation. No action, direction, or policy decision is requested as part of this item.
In late 2025, at the Council's request, City staff sought technical assistance to visualize and better understand long-term crime data that the City’s Police Department had already collected and maintained. The objective was to determine whether interactive visualization tools could assist Council and staff in reviewing geographic patterns reflected in existing records. Five years of Police Department Records Management System (RMS) data, covering December 1, 2020, through November 30, 2025, was used for this limited purpose. Unfounded offenses were excluded. The resulting visualizations reflect the City of Farmers Branch data only and do not include data from neighboring jurisdictions.
DISCUSSION:
The presentation will explain how the data was processed and visualized, and how the information should be interpreted. Topics to be covered include:
• Use of existing Farmers Branch Police Department incident data
• Geocoding of reported incidents to general locations within the City
• Aggregation of incidents by general offense category and offense severity
• Visualization of incident density to illustrate geographic distribution
The presenter will emphasize that visualizations are descriptive only and do not establish causal relationships. The information is intended to illustrate patterns within the data and is not intended to attribute responsibility, evaluate policy effectiveness, or support conclusions regarding governance, services, or infrastructure.
To ensure proper interpretation, the following limitations will be noted:
• The analysis does not determine causation or policy impact
• The visualizations do not evaluate the effectiveness, cost, or governance of any transportation system or service
• The presentation does not compare Farmers Branch crime rates to other jurisdictions
• The analysis does not assess homelessness services, enforcement strategies, or social policy outcomes
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
DISTRICT:
Citywide
ATTACHMENT(S):
None